Cheese-Crusted Ripe Plantain Balls

September 14, 2011

Welcome to my latest obsession: ripe plantains and finger food. Of all my obsessions this is probably the least insane one. I am sure you agree. Please say you do and I’ll share with you the recipe for these incredible Cheese-Crusted Ripe Plantain Balls filled with melted cheese.

And you’ll ask yourself how you have lived so far without them.

The greatest thing about cooking is that it satisfies my mad scientist tendencies without having to harness the power of lightning or going through the trouble of trying to conquer the world.

I am too lazy to try to conquer the world, or worse, keeping hold of it once I conquer it. Too much work, I say.

So, I had some ripe plantains left from when I made piononos, and decided to see what I could do with them. Something easy, something relatively healthy (read: “no deep-frying”) and something I could eat while walking around. Because being obsessed by many things (including ripe plantains and finger food) means no time to sit and eat.

These Cheese-Crusted Ripe Plantain Balls are simply amazing!

This was a pretty good result for my experiment. At least nobody was hurt. Trust me, I consider that a victory in itself.

Buen provecho!

Aunt Clara

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Cheese-Crusted Ripe Plantain Balls Recipe

Prep Time

25mins

Cook Time

15mins

Total Time

40mins

Cheese-Crusted Ripe Plantain Balls Recipe: Crusty on the outside, sweet in the inside and oozing with melted cheese. Do I have your attention? This little balls are also easy and quick to make.

Servings: 6servings

Author: Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

3ripe plantains(see notes)

1teaspoonof salt

1cuphard mozzarella, diced

1/3cupbutter at room temperature

1/2cupground Parmesan or Pecorino

Instructions

Peel the plantains. Cut them into quarters. Boil until soft adding 1 teaspoon of salt to the water. Remove from the water. Remove the center of the plantain (looks like a nerve) and mash until there are no lumps. Cool to room temperature.

Make small balls (about a tablespoon of plantain puree). Poke a hollow in the ball and put a piece of mozzarella in it. Form a ball around it. Repeat until you finish with all the mashed plantains. Resist eating them now.

Brush some butter on the balls. Cover with Parmesan or Pecorino, making as thick a layer as you can. Place the balls on a baking tray.

Pre-heat oven to 400 ºF [200 ºC].

Bake until they are golden brown outside and remove from the oven.

Serve warm.

Notes & Nutrition Facts

Use plantains that are ripe but firm (no black spots).

How many balls you get depend on the size of the plantains you use.

Make sure to use hard (dry) mozzarella, the fresh type will break the balls in the baking.

You can prepare them beforehand and keep refrigerated, bake them just before serving.

Can’t wait to try this recipe but thought I mention that in your recipe it says to use fresh mozzarella but in your note it says “Make sure to use hard (dry) mozzarella, the fresh type will break the balls in the baking.”

I recently joined your site and love the photos, your blog and amazing recipes! Looking forward to future posts.

I tried this recipe and it didn’t come out well. The mozzarella oozed out of the plantains and they didn’t get golden brown. Should I freeze the mozzarella b4 using it in the recipe and how long should u bake them to get them golden.

I tried this recipe, but it didn’t come out well for me. How long did you boil the plantains for? I boiled the for about 30 mins, but when molding them into balls, they didn’t seem tender enough. Any advice?